ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF)
Website: http://www.aseanregionalforum.org
Formation and Structure
The ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) was established in 1994 with the intent to “foster constructive dialogue and consultation on political and security issues of common interest and concern” and to “make significant contributions to efforts towards confidence-building and preventive diplomacy in the Asia-Pacific region.” Operates on the principles of non-intervention, informal dialogue, and non-binding confidence building measures.
Member States
The 10 ASEAN members – Brunei Darussalam; Cambodia; Indonesia; Lao Peoples Democratic Republic; Malaysia; Myanmar; Philippines; Singapore; Thailand; and Vietnam – in addition to the following extra-regional members:
Non ASEAN members – Australia; Bangladesh; Canada; the People’s Republic of China; the European Union; India; Japan; North Korea; South Korea; Mongolia; New Zealand; Pakistan; Papua New Guinea; Russia; East Timor; and the United States
Counterterrorism Mandate
• Set forth at the 2002 ASEAN Regional Forum, where Senior Officials provided recommendations on the future direction of the ARF. Recommendations included plans to strengthen measures to combat terrorism including: the enhancement intelligence-sharing, police cooperation, and financial measures against terrorism, the establishment of an Inter-Sessional Group on Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crimes (ISM on CTTC), and the enhanced role of the ARF Chair.
Intergovernmental Counterterrorism Committee or Working Group
The majority of the ARF’s regular work on counterterrorism takes place under the auspices of the ISM on CTTC and the Inter-Sessional Group on Confidence Building Measures. Topic specific seminars and workshops have also been held where ARF participants meet, share best practices, discuss cooperative counterterrorism efforts and provide recommendations for the meetings of senior officials and foreign ministers.
In July 2007 operating rules were established for the creation of “Friends of the ARF Chair,” an ad hoc group designed for quick reaction to emergencies. The group will consist of the current ARF Chair along with three foreign ministers to be chosen by all ARF participants based on the issue at hand.
In addition to the official dialogue process, the ARF also includes a “Track II” process, which seeks to incorporate contributions from non-governmental experts primarily from the ASEAN Institutes of Strategic and International Studies and the Council on Security Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific.
Secretariat Resources
In 2004, ASEAN established the small ARF Unit, which is located within the ASEAN secretariat. The ARF Unit works to increase interaction with regional and international organizations. Aside from the ARF Unit, ARF counterterrorism responsibilities primarily fall on the individual foreign ministers at the ISMCTTC. The ARF Unit does not have a mandate to monitor compliance of the voluntary commitments made by ARF countries on a number of counterterrorism-related matters.
Achievements
Since its formation in 1994, the development of ARF has been deliberate and incremental. As conceived in the 1995 ARF Concept Paper, ARF has proceeded from the promotion of confidence-building measures, to the development of preventive diplomacy mechanisms, and ultimately to conflict resolution.
ARF leaders have issued non-binding statements since 2001 related to counterterrorism on a range of issues, including the financing of terrorism; border security; piracy and maritime security; transportation security; non-proliferation; and information sharing, intelligence exchange and document security. In these statements, ARF participants have, among other things, have agreed to improve border security by adopting measures proposed by ICAO, the IMO, and the WCO. This includes a commitment to implement ICAO standards for Machine Readable Travel Documents.
It also issued a statement supporting national implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1540, which focuses on taking steps at the national level to prevent weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery from getting into the hands of terrorists and other non-state actors.
Until recently, the ARF focused primarily on short-term preventative measures against terrorism, such as maritime security. Through nonbinding consensus statements, workshops, and seminars, ARF has aimed to prevent terrorist attacks at ports and on ships in the highly trafficked waters of the region.
The establishment of the “Friends of the ARF Chair” quick-action group has the potential to act more swiftly and decisively in implementing the UN Strategy. To date, however, the ARF’s counterterrorism contributions have been limited by its weak institutional capacity and strict adherence to ASEAN principles of non-interference.
Recent/Planned Activity
The 2007 ISM on CTTC focused on addressing the “conditions conducive to the spread of terrorism,” which involves a “sustainable strategy to win the hearts and minds of the people.” ARF participants reiterated the importance of “nation-building measures such as the provision of basic economic and social services, the importance of good governance and institution-building, the necessity of achieving national political consensus through reconciliation and negotiation, and the importance of national will.” The participants officially endorsed the UN’s “Alliance of Civilizations” Initiative as well as the UN Global Strategy Counter-Terrorism Strategy. To this end, the ARF convened a "Special Informal Session on Inter-Civilisational Dialogue," and has actively promoted initiatives aimed at facilitating inter-civilizational dialogue in the region, such as the Asia-Pacific Inter-Faith Regional Dialogue.
On the future direction of the ISM on CTTC, the participants in the 2007 meeting suggested that ARF efforts to counter terrorism and combat transnational crime continue to encompass concrete cooperation such as information sharing among civilian and military agencies, capacity building, and practical cooperation in areas such as anti-money laundering and maritime security.